SiliSponge: Does It Work?

You may have seen quite a bit of hype about a new makeup “sponge” made of silicone. *I use the term ‘sponge’ loosely here. In fact it had so much interest on social media that some people have taken it a step further by trying silicone bra insterts to apply their foundations; just to see if they got similar results.

I’m usually not one to jump on gimmicky products or techniques but I also support innovation and if something conjures up my curiosity, I’ll give it a try. So I ordered the much talked about SiliSponge and been testing it out with different products to see if the performance matched the hype…

SiliSponge

Before I delve into details, I’d like to point out that although Molly Cosmetics is the official “brand” for SiliSponge, they are now available in many other online stores. Prices range from $6-$10 and they’re exactly the same size and made of the same materials.

I purchased mine from AliExpress for $6. They also have them on Ebay and Amazon. Just search for silicone sponge or silicone beauty blender.

SiliSponge

SiliSponge is made of a thin sheet of plastic which contains silicone – firm jelly-like substance inside. In all fairness to those who tried using their silicone bra inserts, it feels exactly like those “chicken cutlets”.

It’s completely flat on one side and it has a rounded edge on the other. As per the comparison against my thumb and the NARS Sheer Glow foundation bottle, it’s actually quite compact. It has a bit of flex but the more you try to bend it, the harder and more taut the surface gets.

SiliSponge

SiliSponge

Other than its interesting concept, the selling point of SiliSponge is that it doesn’t waste any product and it’s completely hygienic (as it doesn’t soak up or hold onto any product). Not only would you need a fraction of foundation/concealer/cream product you would normally use, but cleaning is an absolute breeze.

As for application technique, it’s advised that the product is wiped over the skin in circular motions first and then patted in to achieve a flawless finish.

SO…DOES IT WORK?

I tried this applicator with my usual foundations, concealers and even cream contour products to date. Whilst I agree with the hygiene part of it being an advantage, in terms of product usage and most importantly performance, this was a total fail. Here are my reasons/findings:

The biggest disadvantage of SiliSponge is that it’s not pourous like a traditional sponge. There’s always some product left on the applicator which can’t really go anywhere. Regardless of how little product you use, it takes ages to blend it into the skin.

I also found there was always some product residue sitting on top of the skin so I ended up reaching for my Beauty Blender to even things out and dab away the excess product. This naturally defeated the purpose of using a tool other than the Beauty Blender to begin with. As a side note: even the original distributor of SiliSponge recommends final blending should be done with a Beauty Blender or a foundation brush. Again…what’s the point!?

It was particularly harder to work with long wearing foundations. Because it takes a long time to distribute/blend and the excess product is always there, the product starts to set and either lifts the already blended product off the skin or collects and sets on the surface of the SiliSponge.

I found I didn’t really use “considerably less” product than what I normally would. In fact, the picture of the foundation below is half the amount I would normally use and it barely covered 3/4 of my face. I had to go back in with another half a pump so I wouldn’t consider this a substantial saving.

It’s not comfortable to hold / apply with. SiliSponge is quite compact. If you hold it vertically to get a good grip, half the applicator is covered with fingers. This leaves very little surface to apply product with. If you hold it on the sides, it keeps slipping and doesn’t provide a stable grip.

Although it has some flex, it’s practically impossible to mould it into a shape where it comfortably caters for hard-to-get-to areas – especially eye/nose area. This really affected the concealer application under the eyes.

I read/watched quite a few reviews since receiving my SiliSponge, to see if I was doing something wrong with application but majority of the reviews seem to list the same type of concerns/problems. That pretty much reiterated my findings too.

SiliSponge

SiliSponge – foundation blended

Along with good products, we also come across some that may not quite perform as well as we hoped. Unfortunately for me, SiliSponge was one of the fails.

The good thing about SiliSponge is the price point. If you still want to try it for yourself, it’s not really gonna break the bank. You can check out the options I listed in the beginning of the post if you’d like to purchase one.

For me however, until beauty innovation delivers a magic applicator that ticks more boxes than my current favorites, I’m happy to stick with my Beauty Blender and Sigma F40 Kabuki

8 comments

MandyApril 30, 2017 - 6:29 am

Thank god someone is finally telling it like it is. I too fell for the hype on social media and bought one. I kept looking for reviews and watching tutorials cos I thought I was doing something wrong. All the things you listed on this post happened to me too. Super happy to find your blog.

Thank you for this review!!! People get so crazy about makeup on social media and everything is a must have. I get really confused cos I don’t know what to believe anymore. It’s refreshing to see professionals like you give their honest opinion. Thank you for your honesty and for sharing your blog with us. xo

Thanks for your kind words Caroline. I hear what you’re saying; the beauty industry is definitely hard to keep up with. There are some amazing products out there but the lines between what’s really good and what’s not get blurred due to sponsorships. Happy to help any way I can :)